Manage your subscription

Rock, paper, scissors with 100 people could last a quadrillion rounds

Rock, paper, scissors is a game best played in a small group

LauraW / Alamy Stock Photo

By Yvaine Ye

Warning: don’t play rock, paper, scissors with a large group of people unless you have a lot of time to spare. The game time increases exponentially with the number of players. So with 100 people participating, you may have to wait for a hundred thousand trillion rounds or more for the emergence of a winner.

Rock, paper, scissors is often no more than a bit of fun or a way to decide where to get lunch between friends. …